Cable-railway apparatus



(No Model.) l l 4 Sheets-Sheet 1.

. y H. W. MCNBILL.

CABLE RAILWAY APPARATUS. No. 357,728. Patented Feb. 15, 1887.

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/f/f/f//f//fl Wwe l I N. PETERS, Phulxhagpher. washington. n. C.

4 Sheets-Sheet 2. (NoModel) H. W. M CNEILL.

CABLE RAILWAY APPARATUS.

No. 357,723. Patented Feb. 15, 1887.

4 Sheets-Sheet 3.

(No Model.)v

, H. W. MONEILL.

CABLE RAILWAY APPARATUS, No. 357,723. Patented Feb. l5, 188,7.

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(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 4.

H. W. McNELL.

CABLE RAILWAY APPARATUS.

No. 357,723. Patented-Peb. 15, 1887.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OEEICE.

HOBART W. MCNEILL, OF OSKALOOSA, IOWA, ASSIGNOR TO THE RASMUSEN CABLE COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

CABLE-RAI LWAY APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 357,723, dated February l5, 1887.

Application iiled April 28, 1886. Serial No. 200,446. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HoBART NV. MoNErLL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Oskaloosa, in the State of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cable- Railway Apparatus, of which I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification.

ro My present invention, while capable ofgeneral application to cable railways so far as certain of its features are concerned, has relation particularly to the apparatus of that class of cable railways wherein the propulsion of the car is effected by means of an endless cable traveling within'a tube or tunnel between the tracks, said cable being provided at suitable intervals throughout its length with stops adapted to engage with an arm or arms prozo jecting from the car through theslot of the cable-tube, and more especially does my invention relate to the improvement of such apparatus as is used in cable-railway systems ofthe character set forth in certain Letters Patent granted to C. W. Rasmusen, October 25, 1881,

and October 24, 1882.

The objects of my invention are, first, to improve the construction of tube or tunnel for the traveling cable; and to this end my invention consists in the construction of tunnel hereinafter described, and particularly defined in the claims.

In the cable-railway systems shown by the patents of RasmusenVl the endless `cable was supported upon trucks iiXed in such proximity to each other throughout its length as to engage with the arms of spider wheels or sprocket-wheels that were mounted upon the axles of the car and projecting through the slot 4o of the cable-tube. This construction is objectionable for the reason that it necessitates the use ofa multitude of trucks far in excess of the number necessary to support the traveling cable.

Still another object of my present-invention is to avoid the use of more trucks than is necessary to sustain the cable; and to this end my invention consists in providing the cable with an improved construction of stop adapted to 5o engage with an arm or arms projecting from to the cable itself, so that any lateral strain or deection of the cable will not affect the move- 6o ment of the trucks.

A further object of my invention is to improve the construction of truck for sustaining the traveling cable and to provide improved means whereby the lubrication of this truck canbe automatically effected.

To this end my invention consists in the novel construction of truck hereinafter described, and particularly defined in the claims at the end of this specification. 7o

A further object of my invention is to provideimproved means whereby a cable provided with stops and trucks may be transferred around the curve of a roadway and the drums at the terminals of such roadway. 4 75 To this end my invention consists in a series of pulleys llocated at the curves of the roady way, below the top of the cable-tube, and havf ing their proXimities provided with grooves to receive the cable and its stops or trucks. 8o

In this connection my invention also consists in the construction, hereinafter dened, of the pulley or drum for the curve or terminal of the roadway.

Figure l is a View in vertical transverse sec- 8 5 tion through the cable-tube, the cable, and one of the cable-trucks. Fig. 2 is a plan view, and Fig. 3 a View in vertical longitudinal section,through a portion of the cable, one of its supporting trucks, and the adjacent stops. 9o Fig. 4 is a sectional view on line m :t of Fig. 7. Figs. 5 and G are plan views of the two sections of which each cable stop is composed. Fig. 7 is an edge view of one of the cable-stops. Fig. Sisa view in side elevation of the sprocketwheel and sustaining-frame of the car, showing its position with respect to the stops and trucks of the cable within the tube. Fig. 9 is a plan view of the apparatus at a curve of the roadway, parts being broken away for better roo illustration. Fig. 10 is an enlarged plan view of one of the pulleys at a curve of the roadway, showing its position with respect to the.l

cable and its stops and trucks. Fig. 11 is an enlarged View, in Vertical transverse section, through the cable-tube and one of the pulleys at a curve of the roadway. Fig. 12 is a plan view, and Fig. 12u a side View, of a drum at a terminal of the roadway, for reversing the direction oftravel ofthe cable. Fig. 13 is a plan View of the roadway, having the end of the bridge and the adjoining abutment, parts being broken away to illustrate the subjacent mechanism. Fig. 14is a view invertical transverse section on line x m of Fig. 13. Fig. l5 is a view in vertical section on line yy of Fig. 13.

The cable-tube, which will rest upon the cross-ties of the track, consists of the bottom plate A, suitably bolted to such cross-ties, and the plates B and B, which constitute the sides and top of the tube. The plate B has its inwardly-bent bottom portion b fastened to the bottom plates A by means ofsuitable bolts or rivets,b, and through the side of this plate'B pass the bolts or rivets b2, which serve to firmly unite the plate to the angular brackets C, the hanged bottom portions C of which are bolted, as shown at c, to the bottom plate of the tube. The side plate B is in like manner secured to the bottom plate A by means of suitable bolts or rivets,b3,passing through the inwardlybent bottom portion of this plate, ande by means of bolts b4 is fastened to the bracketplate C, the angular bottom portion of which is bolted to the base-plate, as shown at c. rlhe top B2 of the side plate B extends over the greater portion of the top, being separated from the top B3 of the side plate B a sufficient distance to form the slot D, through which the projecting arms of the spider-Wheel IV, that is carried by the car, (see Fig. 8,) will pass to engage with the stops on the endless cable. Within the tube, and at the bottom angles of the plates B and B', are placed the rails or ways Bt, whereon will travel the wheels of the trucks that sustain the endless cable, and in the upper corners of the tube similar rails, B5, will be placed to secure the accurate movement of the trucks within the tube. By forming the side plates of the cabletube with the inwardly-proj ecting bottom portionsI am enabled to firmly secure the tube to its bottom plates, and by means of the brackets C, also bolted to the bottom plate and to the side walls of the tube, to connect the side plates and bottom plates so rigidly together as to avoid all danger of displacement or disarrangement of parts.

In Fig. 8 of the drawings is illustrated the sprocket-wheel and its sustaining-frame above the cable-tube, the arms of this Wheel being of sufficient length to engage with the stops upon the cable, these stops being placed lin such proximity to each other as to successively catch the arms of' the sprocket-wheel W when such wheel is free to revolve. The sprocket-wheel, its sustainingframe, and connection therefor being fully set out and claimed in an application filed by me of even date herewith, and numbered 200,445, need not be herein more fully described.

The stops E upon the endless cable E are preferably formed of two sections, e and e',each section having an open slot from one side to the center, which will permit it to be slipped over the endless cable, and being provided with a seat, e2, wherein the cable will rest when the sections have been placed thereon. The section e is provided with the dovetailed rib or mortise adapted to iit within the correspondingly-dovetailed grooves e, formed'in the section e, when the two parts of the stops are put together, as shown in Fig.` 7, and, if desired, corrugations may be formed upon the faces of the seats e2 corresponding with the depressions between the strands of the cable, so that when the stops are placed thereon they will be held in fixed position against all danger of slipping. In order to x the stops upon the cable, the sections e and c of each stop will be slipped over the cable from opposite sides thereof in such manner that the dovetail rib of the section e shall enter the corresponding seat of' the section e', and the stops will then be placed in a power-press and will be forced upon the cable untilthey firmly bind the same, after which suitable rivets will be passed through the holes e5 from side to side of the stops to securely hold the sections together. By thus forming the stops of sections with open seats, so that they may be placed upon the cable from opposite sides thereof, I am enabled to clamp the stops much more securely to the cable than would be possible were they slipped over the same from the ends. As the stops E serve to engage with the arms of the spiderwheel W, that is carried by the car, it will be seen that these stops must be in such proximity to each other throughout the length of the cable that when the car is stopped the spider-wheel will be continuously revolved by thesuccessive engagement of the stops with its projecting arms.

As in my improved construction the sustaining-trucks ofthe endless cable do not engage with the projecting arms of the spider wheel of the car, it is only necessary that these trucks should be placed sufficiently near each other to prevent the sagging of the cable against the bottom of the tube. Each truck consists of a pair of Wheels, F, irmly keyed upon an axle, F, so as to turn therewith, and the tread of the wheels is preferably grooved, as shown, and fitted with the rings f,of rubber or other sound-deadening material. The axle F of the truck is journaled within a suitable bearing, g, that is formed at the rear portion of the oil-reservoir G, with the bottom of which such bearingvcomniunicates by means of suitable ducts. This oil-reservoir G is provided with an orifice to admit the lubricant,such oriice being closed by a suitable cap, g', and from the front end of the reservoir project-s the tongue G, which serves to connect the reser- IOO IIO

voir,and consequently the trucl ,with the stop E of the cable. (See Fig. 2.) 4The cable-stop E in front of each truck is provided with a seat or opening, e6, into which the tongue G will enter, and through this stop is passed the pin or screw e7, whereon the tongue G will be pivotally held.

It will be observed that the slot e of the stop E is somewhat broader than the tongue G', so as to permit of a slight lateral movement of the tongue within the slot, so that any lateral strain upon the cable-stops will not affect the accurate movement of the supportingtrucks. To the top of the journal-bearing gis preferably bolted astrap, g4, which loosely encircles the cable.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that the arms projecting from thesprocketwheel of the car into the slotted cable-tube do not engage with the trucks of the cable, but engage with the series of stops that are firmly clamped thereon; hence the only function of the trucks is to sustain the cable, and the necessity of placing these trucks closely together is thereby avoided.

In Figs. 9, l0, and ll of the drawings is illustrated my improved mechanism for transferring the cable, its, stops, and its sustainingtrucks around the curves of the roadway. At such point of the roadway the cable-tube is enlarged, as shown in Fig. l1, to receive the pulleys or drums H, the axle ot' each drum beingjournaled in the top plate I and the bottom plate l of the tube, and the top plate can be held in position by the brackets l2, placed between the pulleys, near the slot of the tube, and by means of a suitable support, l, at the opposite edge of such plate. rIhe several pulleys of the series are placed on a curve with their peripheries as close together as possible, and each pulley is provided upon its periphery with the groove h, adapted to receive the body of the cable, with the seats hf, to admit the stops of the cable, with the seats h2, for the wheels of the cable-trucks, and seats It", for the arm projecting from the sprocket-wheel of the car. It will be observed that the peripheries ofthe several pulleys of the series from beginning to end ofthe curve lie beneath the slot of the cable tube, and these pulleys will be formed of such diameter as to avoid the necessity of materially increasing the width of the slot along the groove. From this construction it will be seen that the arm projecting from the sprocket wheel of the car remains in the slot of the tube as the car traverses the curve, and is in constant engagement with the steps ofthe cable. By providing the series ot' pnlleys with the peripheral seats, as shown, the necessity for reversing the position ofthe cable and its trucks, as heretofore deemed necessary in the Rasmusen system, is`avoided.

At the terminals of the roadway, where it is required to reverse the direction ot' the travel of the cable, I provide a large terminal drum, K, the axle K of which will be suitably journaled in the top and bottom plates L and L,

and the diameter of which will be preferably equal to the distance between the cable-tubes of the adjoining tracks. The periphery of this drum is provided with the groove k, adapted to receive the endless cable, and with the seats lc', to receive the cable-stops, and the seats k2, ,to ad mit the wheels of the cable-trucks. From this construction it will be seen that in reversing the direction of travel of the cable it is simply required to pass it around the terminal drum, all necessity for twisting the cable incident to turning the pulleys into vertical position, as in the Rasmusen patents, being entirely avoided.

The mechanism for transporting cable-railway cars across bridges is illustrated in Figs. 13, 14, and l5 of the drawings. Upon the abutments at the ends of the bridge and between the parallel tracks oithe roadway will be placed a terminal drum, K, around which the main cable will be passed to reverse its direction of travel, this terminal drum being of the construction hereinbefore described, with the addition that from the under side of its rim, studs or pins It will project downwardly from points immediately back of the seats formed in the periphery ofthe dium to receive the stops upon the cable. At each end of the bridge M a terminal drum, K, of the construction hereinbefore described, will also be provided, and around such terminal drum will extend an endless supplemental cable, M', provided with stops corresponding in number and position with the stops upon the main cable, and provided also, it' desired, with sustained trucks, such as those already described. In order to communicate motion to the supplemental or bridge cable from th'e main cable, and at the same time to provide a means for transferring the car continuously from one cable to the other, I employ the short connectA ing-cables N, two of such cables being placed upon the abutment at each end of the bridge. These connecting-cables N may be made in the form of sprocket-chains passing over suitable sprocket-wheels, o and 0, the axles of which are sustained at the opposite ends of a traveling frame, I). At suitable distances throughont the length of the connecting-chain N are placed the studs or projections n, which engage wilh the pins kt, depending from the rim of the terminal drum K of the main cable and receive motion from such drum as it is revolved by the main cable. From the upper bar, p,ot` the traveling frame P extend the arms 1),to which is connected a flat bar, p2, that extends between the drums O and U, and serves as a bearing-support for the connecting-cable N. rlhe under side of the lower bar, p, is provided with the rack pt, as shown, and the outer end ot' this lower bar is downwardly bent, as at p5, and is provided with a friction-wheel, p,whereon the end of the travelingvfraine is sustained. rIhe rack p* rests upon and engages with thepinion R upon the shaft It', the outer end of this shaft being provided with a miter-gear, i', that meshes with IOO IIO

ISO

the arm of the car across the bridge.

a corresponding miter-gear, r', on the end of the vertical shaft R2, which is sustained by the standard S, and receives motion through the miter gear-wheels s and S and the hand-crank S. The shaft R extends across the abutment, and is provided at its opposite end with a pinion,R3, which engages with the traveling frame of the adjoining track of the roadway, as seen in Fig. 14C. The sprocket-wheel o, at the outer end of the traveling frame P, has its lower portion formed as a friction-drum, which engages with the friction-drum T, formed beneath the periphery of the terminal drum at each end of the bridge. From the construction as thus defined it will be seen that the connecting chain N, by reason of the fact that its teeth are engaged with the pins 7a4 of the terminal drum of the main cable, is constantly driven by such drum. lf, therefore, by turning the crank S and the shafts R2 and R', the driving-frames P are caused to move forward to the position shown in Fig. 15, the

friction-drum of the sprocket-wheels o will be forced into engagement with the frictiondrum T of the terminal drum upon the bridge, and will cause this drum to gradually revolve and impart movement to the supplemental or bridge cable M. It will also be seen that as the projecting arm of the sprocket-wheel of a car is moved along in front of one of the stops of the main cable one of the teeth or studs of the connecting-cable N will pass behind said arm, and will move said arm forward from the main cable until it passes in front of one of the stops of the supplemental or bridge cable, which stop will thus continue to advance When the bridge is to be swung open in order to permit the passage of vessels, thepcrank S will be turned in such manner as to cause the pinions R of the shaft R to move the traveling frame backward until the drum O is in such position as to no longer obstruct the swinging of the bridge. By the foregoing construction, the details of which can be varied within wide limits, I am enabled to provide a means whereby cable-cars can be readily transferred across the bridges that may intersect the lines. By providing a friction-gear for communicating movement from the main cable to the supplemental cable of the bridge, I am enabled to gradually start such supplemental cable and thereby avoid all danger of breakage which would be liable to occur in case the entire power of the main cable was exerted at once to overcome the inertia ofthe supplemental cable and its drums.

It is to be understood that the improvements just described relating to the mechanism for transporting cable-railway cars across bridges forms no part of the subject-matter ofl the present application, and is not claimed herein, the same being reserved and set forth in a separate application constituting a division I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In cable-railway apparatus, a tube or tunnel for the endless cable, comprising a bottom plate, A, side plates B and B, mounted upon said bottom plate, and provided'with the inner flanges, b, projecting beyond the rails of the tube and adapted to receive bolts, substantially as described.

2. In cable railway apparatus, a propelling-cable having stops throughout its length formed of separate sections, said sections being provided with seats to receive the cable and with overlapping projecting portions connected by bolts extending in the direction of the length of the cable, substantially as described.

3. In cable railway apparatus, a propelling-cable provided with stops formed of separate sections, one of said sections being provided with a mortise and the other section with a groove adapted to receive said mortise, and each of the side sections being provided with a seat for the cable, substantially as described. p

4. In cable-railway apparatus,a propellingcable having stops or buttons xed thereto throughout its length, and provided also atintervals with sustaining-trucks, substantially as described.

5. In cable-railway apparatus,a propellingcable having stops fixed thereto throughout its length,.and having sustaining-trucks connected at suitable intervals to certain of said stops of the cable, substantially as described.

6. In cable-railway apparatus, thecombination, with a propelling-cable having suitable stops fixed thereto throughout its length, and provided at suitable intervals with sustainingtrucks, the ax'les of which are beneath said' cable,and are connected at intervals with certain of the stops thereof, substantially as described.

7. In cable-railway apparatus, the combination,with the propelling-cable, of a truck comprising a pair of wheels, an axle for said wheels, abearing for said axle, and an oil-box in communication with said bearing, substantially as described.

8. In cable-railway apparatus, the combination,with the propelling-cable, ofa sustainingtruck provided with grooved wheels having thereon rings of sound deadening material, substantially as described.

9. In cable-railway apparatus, the combination, with the propelling-cable, of stops affixed thereto, and sustaining-trucks, said stops and trucks being pivotal] y connected together, substantially as described.

l0. In cable-railway apparatus, the combination,with the propelling-cable, of stops affixed thereto, sustaining trucks connected to said stops and located beneath the cable, and guard-straps extending from the top of said trucks around the cable, substantially as described.

11. In cable-railway apparatus, the combi- IOO IIO

IIA-5 nation, with a car having a sprocket wheel carried thereby, of atraveling cable provided throughout its length with stops or buttons adapted to engage with the arms of the sprocket-wheel,and provided also with trucks for supporting said cable, located niueh farther apart than the stops, substantially as described.

12. In cable-railway apparatus, theconnbination, with the main cable having stops thereon, of aseries of pulleys located between the rails of the track at the curves of the roadway, and having their peripheries provided with grooves or seats to receive the cable and the stops, respectively, substantially as described.

13. In cable-railway apparatus, the combination, with the lnain cable having stops thereon, of a series of pulleys located at the curves of the roadway, between the rails of the track, and having their peripheries provided with grooves or seats to receive the cable and the stops, and with spaces for the arm projecting from the car, substantially as described.

14. In cable-railway apparatus, the combination, with the main cable having stops thereon, and having sustaining-trucks, of a pulley or drum for changing the direction of the cable, provided with grooves to receive the cable, the stops, and the trucks, substantially as described.

15. In oable-railway apparatus, a drum for reversing the direction of travel of the cable, having in its periphery the groove for the cable, the seats for the cable-stops, the seats for the cable-trucks, and the seats to admit an arm projecting from the car, substantially as described.

I-IOBART W. MCNEILL.

Witnesses:

GEO. l?. FISHER, Jr., J Amas H. Pinnen. 

